To ask the Minister of Education to detail a breakdown of Specialist Provision classes, by the number of pupils in each classroom.

The Education Authority (EA) has advised that:

Specialist Provision classes are needs based and capacity measurements will be more complex than in a mainstream setting. EA works closely with schools to ensure that children with special educational needs (SEN) are placed in the most appropriate provision to meet their individual needs.

There are currently 273 schools with operational specialist provisions across the education estate.

140 schools have specialist provision types where pupil numbers are aligned with or exceed the typical capacity range — reflecting a high level of demand and appropriate placement decisions. Of these, 75 schools have provision types that are currently operating at or above their usual capacity range.

163 schools have provision types where pupil numbers are currently below the typical capacity range, which may reflect a change in pupil profile or a strategic decision to maintain smaller class sizes to support wellbeing and effective learning.

The October 2024 census is the most recently published dataset. This data provides enrolment figures for Specialist Provision at school level but does not include a breakdown by individual classroom capacity or pupil distribution across classrooms within each Specialist Provision unit, as this is not routinely collected or published in the standard census returns.

The school enrolment data at school level for 2024/25 can be accessed at: School enrolment - school level data 2024/25 | Department of Education

One of the core design elements of Specialist Provisions is to allow pupils to integrate with Mainstream Classes and reverse integrate into specialist provisions in line with their identified and changing needs.

This means that schools can decide how best to utilise their specialist provision to meet the needs of their school community. As such, if more detailed information about classroom organisation within specific Specialist Provision units is required, this would need to be requested directly from individual schools, as this operational detail sits outside the scope of the EA's centrally held data.